Doing Domestics
by theangelshavemymind
Summary: Things have been going well in the parallel universe. Rose and the Doctor are as in love as ever, but is there something that Rose is hiding from him? She seems preoccupied and a bit distant, and it's not due to the fact that she's been called away on a business trip.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor whistled to himself as he scrubbed at a pan caked with the remains of his dinner. He didn't like how quiet the house was without Rose. She was away on a business trip for Torchwood. He would have come with her, but Torchwood had only provided enough money for one plane ticket, and plus he needed to stay with the growing TARDIS.

He whistled in the direction of said TARDIS and smiled as his whistle was followed by a humming noise. The new TARDIS didn't look anything like a TARDIS, not yet anyway. The chameleon circuit was adjusting and currently, the TARDIS looked like a very strange lamp. It had been a book just the other day, and a shoe the day before that. At least it was registering that it was in a domestic setting, and not trying to become some alien dwelling, or a giant mushroom.

The Doctor laughed at the thought of his ship as a giant mushroom. If that were the case he and Rose might as well paint themselves blue and watch out for cats.

Chuckling to himself he resumed his battle with the pan. He didn't mind chores like the dishes or tidying up the house. It was so domestic, well, everything he did now was domestic, but he found that he didn't mind as much as he thought he would. He knew it was because of Rose. She had settled into a little routine while she had been in the parallel world without him, and he had had to become a part of that routine. Which meant long days at Torchwood with everyone asking him questions about what this was, or how this worked.

He didn't like to be the center of attention, but everyone knew that he was the most knowledgeable person when it came to aliens. He liked being able to help them, but sometimes it was just plain tedious. But he had Rose, she was there to make everything better, to slip her hand into his when they asked if he could stay after hours to investigate this or that. They often worked together, the husband and wife team if you wanted to call it that. Rose would carry out whatever tasks he assigned her to, while he tweaked with machinery, or browsed over charts. He'd been given other assistants, but none of them were as good as Rose. Plus, he would never dream of snogging anyone else for five minutes during what was meant to be a coffee break.

The members of Torchwood had been wary of the Doctor when he'd first stepped through their doors. It took them a while to realize to fully trust him. Jake and Pete had vouched for him, and after he helped avert a meteorite from crashing into Cardiff, he was welcomed with open arms, and given a job alongside Rose.

The Doctor didn't know why Torchwood had only wanted Rose for the trip. He was hesitant to let her go at first, claiming that anything could happen to her and that he should be there to make sure she was safe. She had given him that smile that always made him go weak in the knees, and then she told him he worried too much. In the end, he had let her go, after she had explained to him that Ianto Jones would be going along as well, the parallel Ianto that is. He was one of their good friends, who also worked at Torchwood and was in a not so secret relationship with Jake.

The Doctor was always surprised at how utterly parallel this world was. He had yet to find a parallel Martha and Donna, but he had a feeling that they were out there.

When the TARDIS was fully grown and ready for use, he was going to take Rose and explore every part of their parallel world. They had both agreed that as soon as the TARDIS was ready, they were going to make every single minute with it count. They had promised rides to Pete and Tony. Tony was especially keen on exploring what was out there, having grown up on Rose's stories of her adventures in time and space.

The Doctor finally succeeded in getting the pan clean, and was just about to start on the rest of the dishes when the phone rang.

Wiping his hands on a dishtowel, he answered the phone with a cheery, "Hullo?"

"Hey, you," Rose's voice came through to him.

He smiled and said happily, "Rose! How is it going? How's the hotel? Nice? No aliens?"

Rose laughed and replied, "Everything is great. And there aren't any aliens."

"Good," the Doctor said, leaning against their countertop, "You'll be pleased to know," he said proudly, "that I haven't burned the flat down yet."

"Yet?"

"Well, there was an incident with my toast this morning, but everything's fine."

Rose giggled from the other end of the phone and the Doctor smiled. He loved that giggle.

"I miss you, Rose."

"I miss you too," Rose replied.

"How long is this trip? A week? Blimey that's a long time."

"It's jus' seven days," Rose said. Her voice had a far away tone as she said, "We've been apart for a lot longer than that before."

"Boy do I remember," the Doctor said sadly. He sniffed. "But we're together now! Well, not right now, but once those seven days are up, Miss Rose," he lowered his voice to a low growl, "I'm gonna give you a welcome home party you won't forget."

"Mmmm, is that so?"

"Oh yes."

The TARDIS clunked suddenly and the Doctor said into the phone, "The TARDIS misses you as well."

"Is it still a book?" Rose asked.

"Nope. It's a lamp now, and no, I haven't tried to turn it on."

"How was I supposed to know that it was going to pose as a book?" Rose replied.

The Doctor chuckled. "But I do think she liked you ruffling through her pages."

"Whatever," Rose said.

"She's going to be wonderful one day," the Doctor said, running a thumb down the lampshade of his tiny ship.

It hummed in response and he smiled.

"Do you want me to hang up so that you can have some alone time with your space lamp?" Rose asked.

There was a sound from the Doctor's end of the phone and then the Doctor cried, "Oh! Oh that's brilliant!"

"What? What is?" Rose asked.

The Doctor spoke excitedly into the phone, "She's a clock now! A beautiful little glass clock."

He was silent a moment as he examined the clock. It was about the size of a breadbox. Crystal clear glass surrounded a stunning clock face complete with two ticking black hands. He brushed his fingers of the face of the clock, and it swung inward to reveal a little compartment. Inside was a tiny column that glowed blue.

"Oh Rose," the Doctor said breathlessly into the phone, "Rose, you need to see this."

"What? What is it?" Rose said excitedly.

"It's the TARDIS," the Doctor replied softly, "She's grown a console room." He laughed happily, "She's even got a tiny time rotor and everything. Oh, Rose she's so beautiful."

"Get the computer," Rose ordered, "I want to see."

"Oh right!" the Doctor cried, "Just a sec!"

He ran into their bedroom and grabbed his laptop off the bed. Opening it up as he ran back to the TARDIS he pressed the button on top of the computer screen.

"Okay," he said into the phone.

The screen flickered and then Rose appeared, staring intently at an area to the Doctor's right.

"Hold on," she said.

She fidgeted with something on her laptop and then she looked out at the Doctor and smiled.

"You need a shave," she said with a laugh.

He rubbed at his stubble covered cheek indignantly, "I thought you liked my rough look."

"I like any look on you." She gave him that tongue in teeth smile and he grinned broadly.

She was dressed in pink pajamas. Her hair was damp, she must have just finished an evening shower, and it fell down her shoulders. He thought she looked gorgeous, and he told her so.

"Ta," she replied with a grin, then she looked serious as she said, "Show me the TARIDS!"

The Doctor moved the laptop so that the camera was facing the tiny clock.

"Here she is!" he said proudly. He pointed to the inside of the clock face, "Can you see the blue glow?"

"Yeah," Rose said.

"Isn't she amazing?" the Doctor said, letting Rose get a good look at the interior of the clock.

He could hear Rose laughing and he turned the computer screen to face him again as he asked, "What?"

"Nothing," Rose replied, covering her mouth with her hand. She smiled, "I swear people are gonna think the TARDIS is your child or something, the way you go on about her."

"Well, she's as good as," the Doctor said, smiling. The TARDIS whirred and the Doctor gave it a little pat.

Rose bit her lip and the Doctor asked, "Something wrong?"

She shook her head and gave him a weak smile, "Just tired, that's all."

"You should go to sleep," the Doctor said, "It's almost, what? No," he put a finger up, "don't tell me. It's two minutes, and fourteen seconds till eleven pm. Yes?" He looked hopefully at Rose.

Rose checked a clock on a table next to the hotel bed and then said, "Exactly right."

"I am a Lord of time," the Doctor said grinning, "Gotta remind you of it occasionally."

Rose rolled her eyes. She stretched and the Doctor was treated to a view of Rose's delicate stomach as her PJ top rode up a bit. She pulled it down quickly and he gave her a smirk.

"I'm gonna hit the sack," Rose announced.

"K," the Doctor replied, "Sleep well. I love you." He smiled.

"Love you too," Rose replied. She blew him a kiss, which he pretended to catch and then she turned her laptop off.

The Doctor shut his laptop and sighed. He looked over at the tiny TARDIS. It was humming softly, as though it too were going to fall asleep. The Doctor shut the face of the clock and the TARDIS gave a soft buzzing noise as he let his fingers linger on its glass surface.

He could feel the tiny ship vibrating, growing, maturing, preparing itself for the day when it would be ready to follow in its predecessor's path and travel the stars.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days passed extremely slowly for the Doctor. He had always been sensitive to time passing, but time passing without Rose was simply torture. Each morning he woke in the bed and reached his hand out, hoping to find her warm body beside his, only to be disappointed as his fingers clutched the cold sheets.

He had to remember to put less water in the kettle each morning, seeing as he was only making tea for one. And he was still calling out her name occasionally to ask her a question, or tell her of a brilliant idea he got.

She called him at least twice a day, and each night they would talk to each other on their laptops. He would show her the latest invention that he had built, and she would tell him about how her trip was going.

Apparently she had been sent to be part of a negotiations board for human/alien interaction. She and Ianto were to bring Torchwood's knowledge to the board. It was, in Rose's words, "Even worse than a Slitheen family reunion" which meant it must be bad.

On the third day, Rose talked to him from a little cafe that she had found on a street corner. The meeting for the board was held in New York City, and Rose was enjoying taking in the many sights and sounds of the famous American city.

The Doctor listened to her tell him about her day as she sat stirring a cup of tea. He was lying on their bed, his head resting on a pillow, looking at Rose on his laptop.

"And they'd never even heard of the daleks," Rose said in an exasperated tone, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Those Americans sure are behind," the Doctor commented.

"Tell me bout it," Rose said laughing.

There was a rustling noise on Rose's laptop and a man came to sit next to Rose in her booth. He sighed and put his head in his hands, mumbling, "I swear, these Americans are going to be the death of me."

"Hullo Ianto!" the Doctor said happily from Rose's laptop.

Ianto jumped slightly, and then, upon seeing the Doctor's smiling face, grinned back. "Hi, Doctor." He pointed to the screen, "Nice boxers."

The Doctor looked down at himself. "Erm thanks."

Rose laughed and Ianto said, "But really, Coldplay?"

"They are a brilliant band," the Doctor said defensively, fingering his boxers uncomfortably. He positioned the laptop so that Ianto and Rose could only see his face before saying, "So everything's going good then with the board and whatnot?"

Ianto and Rose both nodded and Ianto said, "It's all supposed to be hush hush, but we've had a couple of problems with the local news stations."

"Word almost got out about the you-know-what," Rose said, her voice a whisper.

"Oh dear," the Doctor said, his eyes wide.

Rose was obviously referring to the TARDIS. The ship was a secret that only their closest friends knew about, or at least they had meant for it to be that way. Somehow all of Torchwood had found out about it, and now it was something that each member of Torchwood had to keep quiet about. A TARDIS was a very rare thing, and the last thing that the Doctor wanted was the entire parallel world to know about it. If the Americas knew that Britain had a machine that could travel through time and space, it wouldn't end well for anyone.

"We were able to cover it up," Ianto said, "Nothing like a little distraction."

Rose laughed and said, "He knocked over a line of vending machines."

The Doctor grinned as Ianto went red and mumbled, "There were like fifty, and who lines them up like dominos anyway?"

There was a beeping noise and Rose pulled out her mobile. She sighed and said to Ianto, "They want us there in fifteen minutes." She raised an eyebrow, "And apparently they're serving drinks."

"You won't be having any of those," Ianto commented before disappearing from sight.

Rose looked back at the Doctor onscreen as he asked, "What did Ianto mean?" He eyed her suspiciously, "Rose, have you been taking advantage of those Americans and their penchant for alcohol."

Rose shook her head, and it looked as though she was about to say something important, but she merely said, "Everything here is too strong for my liking." She wrinkled her nose, "When Americans want to get wasted, they don't waste any time."

The Doctor chuckled and then wagged a finger at her, "You better not have any plans for that sort of thing."

"Oh believe me, I don't." She appeared distant for a bit, her hand absentmindedly fiddling with the material of her shirt that was gathered around her waist.

"Rose?"

The Doctor's voice drew her out of her thoughts and she smiled at him before noticing the time on her laptop.

"I gotta go," she said, grabbing her purse. "Love you."

"Love you more," the Doctor said with a grin.

She gave him a big smile that made his heart flutter slightly and then she disconnected her laptop.

It was almost a full twenty-four hours before he heard from Rose again. Every time the phone rang that day he would answer it with a quick, "Rose?" Of course the time that it was Jackie resulted in a panicked conversation about how he'd let something horrible happen to her precious baby girl. The Doctor was more hesitant about answering the phone after that, so when it really was Rose he just answered with a simple "Hullo."

"Hey, baby," Rose said.

The Doctor smiled so widely that he thought his face might break. "Hullo, sweetheart," he said happily.

He knew that Rose must be in a good mood to use pet names, something that they rarely did, but always made him happy.

"You didn't call me this morning," the Doctor said, the hurt obvious in his voice.

"I'm sorry, " Rose said quickly, "There was a problem with a bit of alien tech that was found off the coast of Alaska. The board went crazy over it."

She sighed audibly and the Doctor said, "But you got it sorted, cos you're brilliant." Rose laughed and the Doctor smiled.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"I'm tinkering," the Doctor replied, holding up the device in his hand as though Rose could see it.

"On what?"

"It's a surprise."

"For when I get back?"

"Maybe," he drew the 'e' out.

Rose was quiet for a bit, before saying softly, "I've got a surprise for you too."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Do I get a hint?"

"Nope."

The Doctor humphed into the phone and then asked, "Is it a good surprise?"

Rose didn't reply right away, and when she did, it was in wistful whisper, "I hope so."

"Rose is something wrong?" the Doctor asked, suddenly concerned.

"No." It was breathy and drawn out, as though she were hiding something.

"Rose?"

"Everything's fine. Really. It's just... this trip is taking a lot out of me."

"Do you need to come home?"

"No. I'll be fine."

"If you start feeling ill, you let me know and I'll come and get you."

"You're gonna come all the way to New York?"

"Yes."

He could hear her laugh, and then sigh, a tiny, happy little sigh that he wished he could have seen in person.

"I really do miss you, Rose. So much."

"I miss you more than you know," Rose replied.

"Oh I doubt that," the Doctor said with a chuckle.

There was a beeping from Rose's end of the phone and she said, "That's Ianto. I gotta go."

"Make sure that you're getting enough sleep."

"Doctor's orders, huh?" Rose asked.

"Yup." He popped the 'p.'

Rose laughed. "Okay. Talk to you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you too."

He hung up the phone and resumed his project. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver, _his_ sonic screwdriver. He had nicked it from the TARDIS before he and Rose were shut off in the parallel world. It worked perfectly well, and he used it on a regular basis. In fact, he was using it right now to make Rose a sonic of her own.

Hers was slightly smaller than his own, and less gray, though still a bit dull looking so as to not draw attention to it. The light was pinkish instead of blue, and the buzzing was a different pitch. He weighed it in his hand. Nice and light.

Pointing it at the telly, he switched it on. The buzzing filled the room and it shone pink. The telly turned on and the Doctor smiled. Maybe he could even modify this to work on wood. But then he'd have to put that function on his as well, and it would be a hell of a lot of work to put that setting into the sonic. He shook his head. Wood would stay unsonicable for now.

He made a few adjustments on Rose's sonic, and then tucked it safely into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, which was hanging over a nearby chair. He smiled. Rose was going to be so surprised. She had been begging him for a sonic screwdriver of her own. Not right out, just subtle hints here and there. Asking to use his sonic for this and that, commenting on how useful it would be if she had one, etc. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when he handed her her very own sonic.

He grinned at the thought and let his mind wander to what Rose's surprise might be. Maybe she had bought him a gift in New York. Perhaps it was one of those "I heart NY" shirts. He would have preferred a "I heart NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNY" shirt, but he doubted they were selling those.

He'd love Rose's surprise, whatever it was. He was sure of that. But he was more anxious for her to come home, than for whatever surprise she was bringing him. He didn't know how he was going to last nearly three more days without her.

His mobile beeped and he jumped up to grab it. It was a text from Rose. He opened it and a smile crept across his face as he looked down at a simple, "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Last chapter! Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

The next couple of days went by a little quicker. The Doctor was busy at Torchwood, seeing as there had been numerous reports of extraterrestrial activity in downtown London. He and Jake had been sent out to investigate and had found a family of lizard-like aliens called Hisyen, who had clearly taken a wrong turn while trying to find their home planet.

They spoke a sort of clicking language, that the Doctor was able to translate easily enough. He was able to persuade their leader to accompany Jake and him back to the Torchwood base, where they could get them a lift home. The Hisyen had come willingly and left on good terms.

The Doctor was back at the flat currently. Jake had asked if he'd like to go out for a few drinks, but he had declined. Rose was supposed to talk with him via the laptops tonight, and he needed to see her face again.

He looked at the clock impatiently. She was supposed to have contacted him ten minutes ago, well ten minutes and fifty-five seconds. Fifty-six. Fifty-seven. He shook his head. Boy was he paranoid.

His laptop screen flickered on and Rose appeared. She was lying sideways on her hotel bed, one hand resting on her stomach, the other holding what looked like a biscuit.

"Rose!" he cried happily, bounding over to sit in front of his laptop.

"Hey," Rose said with a small smile.

"That looks good," the Doctor commented, pointing to the biscuit in her hand.

She turned it over in her fingers. "It's pretty tasty."

"You should bring some back with you."

"I might." She took another bite and chewed thoughtfully before saying, "I heard about the Hisyen. Jake called and told Ianto all about it during dinner."

"Not surprised," the Doctor said, "Most action we've had in a long time."

"Yeah, it's pretty boring here too. The conferences are winding down. Some of the board members have already left."

"Are you going to get to leave early?" the Doctor asked hopefully.

Rose shook her head sadly. "I've got to finish up with Ianto, which means I'll be home late tomorrow night."

"I'll be waiting for you," the Doctor told her.

"You better be."

She gave him a signature Rose smile, which he returned with a cocky grin. They stared at each other for a bit, their eyes drifting over the features of each other's faces. The Doctor noticed that Rose had barely noticeable bags under her eyes.

"Are you alright, Rose?" the Doctor asked, his eyebrows knitted together with worry.

Rose nodded. "Yeah."

"You sure."

She gave him a look and said, "Doctor, I'm fine. Really."

"Okay," he said slowly, still unconvinced.

Rose's eyes flicked downward briefly and the Doctor noticed that her hand tightened over her stomach.

She gulped and set the biscuit down on the bed saying, "I don't think what I had for dinner agreed with me."

She took a few deep breaths and then shook her head.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked, his fingertips inching toward the screen as though he could comfort her despite the distance between them.

"I'm okay," she said quickly with a little wave of her hand. She smiled weakly, "American food's a bit different. Lots of greasy stuff."

She stuck her tongue out and the Doctor couldn't help but smile at the way her nose wrinkled up.

She looked at the clock and said, "I gotta get up early tomorrow."

The Doctor watched as she set the biscuit on the bedside table, fluffed her pillow, and snuggled under the duvet, making her laptop shake a bit. She grinned out at him from the little cocoon she'd made herself.

"Night!" she said cheerfully.

"Goodnight, Rose," the Doctor replied, keeping his eyes fixed on her until the laptop screen went black.

The Doctor spent the entire next day waiting for the sound of the key in the lock. He had tried to prepare a fancy dinner, but ended up with a small fire. In the end he had settled for macaroni and cheese, something easy that could make without any problems. He kept the wine on the table though, and the candles, which had burned low since he'd lit them.

He was sitting on the sofa, watching the flickering flames of said candles. Wax was beginning to pool at the bottom of their stands. He should probably just get new candles altogether.

The TARDIS clunked from where it sat atop a nearby table. It was still posing as the clock, but the inside was quite clearly bigger than the outside. He had been monitoring her and had noticed that she was coming along quite nicely. He expected her to change again soon. He hoped that it would be something more distinct than a book.

There was a sound from the door and the Doctor sprung up. He rushed over to the table and made sure everything was situated, straightening the napkins and making sure that the mac and cheese on the stovetop was still warm.

The door creaked open and the Doctor could barely make out Rose's face by the candlelight coming from the table. She shrugged off her coat and let go of her suitcase before turning to face him fully. As soon as she saw him, her face broke into a huge smile and the next second she was in his arms, hugging him tightly to her.

He buried his nose in her hair and breathed deeply, savoring her scent. Rose. His Rose. He pulled away so that he could look at her. She looked amazing, as usual. Her hair was loose, and she looked very natural, no makeup, not that she needed any.

The Doctor brought his hands up and cupped her face. He ran his thumbs over the apples of her cheeks and she smiled up at him.

"Hullo," she said softly.

He grinned. "Hello, Rose."

He swooped down and caught her lips in a passionate kiss, winding his arms around her and bringing her as close as he could. She sighed longingly into his mouth. God he had missed her. Wasn't that always the way? You don't know how good you've got it, until it's gone. But Rose was back now, and, even though it had only been a week, he felt as though it had been an eternity.

He pulled back from her lips for a quick breath and was about to go in for another round, but she put her finger on his lips and said, "Food first, yeah? I'm starving."

"Oh, of course!" he said, releasing her and drawing out a chair.

She sat down and he went to scoop her some noodles. He placed them sheepishly in front of her saying, "I was going to make us steak, but I figured you didn't want to come back to the charred remains of what was our flat."

She laughed and said, "This is perfect."

They talked and ate. The Doctor wanted to know all the details of Rose's trip, and she asked about what he had done while she was away. They took a brief break from eating, when the TARDIS clanged angrily. Rose had to go over to it and fuss over it for a bit until it finally resumed its soft humming.

"I told you she missed you," the Doctor said as Rose sat back down.

The candles burned lower as they went back to talking. The Doctor was just about to open the wine, when he remembered Rose's sonic.

He dashed out of the kitchen and came back with a small package, which he handed to Rose. "This is my surprise. I almost forgot about it."

Rose took it from him with a smile and turned it over in her hands. He had wrapped it in old Christmas paper, which had little dancing penguins on it. She opened the gift and let out a little squeal of delight as a sonic screwdriver was revealed.

"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked, shifting in his chair a bit.

"I love it!" Rose cried.

She switched it on and watched with fascination as the device came to life. "It even glows pink!" she said happily.

"I thought you'd like that part," the Doctor said, smiling.

Rose put the sonic down on the table and stood up. She walked over to his chair and slid into his lap, straddling his waist. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and said softly, "Thank you. It's perfect."

He put one arm under her legs and swooped her up bridal style. She clung onto him and let him carry her to their bedroom, where he deposited her on the bed and said, "Remember how I said I was going to give a night to remember?"

"Yeah," Rose said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

He grinned wickedly and said, "Well you better get ready."

She squeaked in surprise as he pushed her back on the bed and crawled up her body until he could stare into her eyes. He captured her lips and kissed her sensually, moving his lips against hers, and sneaking his tongue out to brush teasingly at her mouth.

She moaned slightly as he sucked on her bottom lip and he moved so that he could begin ridding her of her business suit. She stilled his hands as he began to fumble with the buttons of her blouse.

"Doctor," she said, her voice a little breathy.

"Yeah?" he replied in a husky tone.

"Remember how I said I had a surprise for you?" He nodded and she bit her lip. Her eyes flicked away from his for a moment and then she shut them, as though mustering up the courage to say what she wanted to say.

"Rose, what is it?" he asked, moving off her slightly so that he could look down at her.

Her eyes popped open and she said quickly, "I'm pregnant."

The Doctor's mouth fell open in shock. He stared at Rose, his mind completely blank for once. Rose looked up at him, searching his face for a reaction.

He seemed to come back to reality and he said quickly, "You're what?"

"I'm pregnant," Rose whispered. The Doctor didn't respond so she launched into a speech, "I wanted to tell you right when I found out, but it was the day before I left and you were busy with Torchwood and I was leaving so I waited. And that's why Ianto said that I shouldn't drink anything, and I didn't want you to know cos I wanted to tell you myself, but god it's been so hard keeping everyone quiet cos my mum found out cos I called her bout my morning sickness, and I ordered her not to tell, and she swore she wouldn't and she didn't," Rose paused to take in a deep breath before concluding with, "And that's my surprise."

The Doctor stared at her as she breathed a few times. His mind was still trying to make sense of what she had just told him. Rose was pregnant, she was going to have a baby, _they_ were going to have a baby. The realization suddenly dawned on the Doctor and he gave a cry of joy and scooped Rose into a tight hug.

"Oh Rose!" he cried happily, "This is brilliant!"

Rose pushed away so that she could look at him. She looked confused. "I didn't think you'd be so keen on the idea of a baby," she said.

"And why wouldn't I be?"

She looked down, "You're always talking about how we're gonna travel the universe with the TARDIS and whatnot. And it's not gonna be easy to do that with a kid." She looked serious. "You don't like domestics and a baby is about as domestic as it gets."

"But Rose," the Doctor said, taking her hand in his, "I don't care about domestics or any of that. This is our baby and I wouldn't miss this for the world. To hell with traveling the universe!" he put his other hand over her lower abdomen, "This is a much bigger adventure."

Rose smiled and leaned up to kiss him softly. "I love you," she whispered against his lips.

He grinned and moved so that he could lie down beside Rose on the bed. He pulled her into his arms, placing his hands over her stomach and burying his face in his hair. He inclined his head so that he could whisper into her ear.

"Thank you, Rose."

"What for?" Rose asked, her voice a little sleepy.

He stroked her lower stomach with his thumbs and replied, "For this and for everything." He placed a kiss atop her head. "You're so brilliant, and amazing and I swear that every day I fall more in love with you."

He could feel her smile through the fabric of his t-shirt. He was about to elaborate on how much he loved her, when he noticed that her breathing had slowed to a steady rate. He looked down and saw that she had fallen fast asleep.

He hugged her tighter to him and watched her as she slept. She was so beautiful. Rose. Defender of the earth. His Rose. The woman he loved more than anything in the entire cosmos. And now they were going to be parents. There would be a mini Rose or a mini him running around their flat. His heart leapt at the thought and he sighed happily into Rose's hair. His eyelids began to droop and he fell asleep to the gentle sounds of Rose's breathing, which, in his opinion, was one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe.


End file.
